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LOCATION:The Heyman Center\, Second Floor Common Room
DTSTAMP:20190321T145700Z
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20180410T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20180411T000000
SUMMARY:Migration and Mobility in a Digital Age: Paradoxes of Connec
tivity and Belonging Conference
DESCRIPTION:The image of Syrian refugees with a smartphone shooting ‘s
elfies’ upon reaching dry land has captured the internatio
nal imagination (Chouliaraki\, 2017\; Kunstman\, 2017\; Risam\, f
orthcoming 2018). It suggests an image of the ‘connected m
igrant’ (Diminescu\, 2008)\, which is shaped by a profound a
mbivalence: migrants are expected to be people fleeing from
war\, violence\, and poverty\; they are not expected to be ‘d
igital natives’\, equipped with technologies to navigate th
eir difficult journeys. While smartphones are accessible\, af
fordable\, and easy to use\, in the realm of the public imagin
ary the image of the disenfranchised and disconnected migran
t remains that of the ‘have nots’\, and therefore subject
to ‘high tech orientalism’ (Chun\, 2006\, p. 73). This po
sits the figuration of the migrant as outside the realm of d
evelopment and modern forms of communication\, disenfranchise
d and vulnerable in order to be worthy of international aid
and pity (Boltanski\, 20000\; Ticktin\, 2008). And yet smartpho
nes are ubiquitous\, and migrants have been early adopters an
d heavy users of technologies for the simple reason that the
se technologies are ingrained in their daily practices and e
veryday lives\, which often involve perilous crossings but al
so the need to keep in touch with the home front and their d
iasporic communities. The promise of connectivity that is gu
aranteed even under duress becomes fraught with the profound
disconnection brought about by the disciplining gaze of Wes
tern media and publics.
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